Motorola, the inventor of the mobile phone, recently launched the Moto G5 and the Moto G5 Plus, both good-looking devices backed by formidable processing abilities. The launch prices, depending on the variant, ranges from Rs 12,000 to Rs 17,000. It was the aim of Lenovo, Motorola's new parent, to make the Moto G5 a unique proposition in terms of looks and size.
Motorola India managing director Sudhin Mathur said the dual-brand strategy was working and the results could be seen with the new flagship. “We wanted the Moto G5 to be a delight for budget phone buyers,” he said.
And, he is right. For starters, the Moto G5 looks completely different from the Moto G4. It has a bigger screen (5.2''), a bigger fingerprint sensor and the deliciously smart stylings of the premier Moto Z.
The Moto G5's metallic unibody design and back feels far superior to its predecessors. Also, in a first, the Google assistant feature allows you to read messages and send mails by just talking to it.
For our review, we used the Lunar Grey Moto G5 Plus, 32GB variant. Two letdowns—the cheap earphones and the Lenovo logo on the startup screen instead of the familiar Motorola 'M' logo. Minor setbacks aside, the phone felt lighter than the Moto X Play or the Lenovo K5 Note. The screen—with the latest Gorilla 3 glass and water-repellant nano-coating—felt smooth. The phone was 6.5 mm wide, though the bezel could have been thinner.
There is a 12 megapixel rear camera and a five mega pixel front shooter. The rear camera is quite good; its colour rendering and image stability functions returned good images both in low light and daylight.
The camera can be turned on by pressing the power button twice. The front camera has a decent wide-angle lens that can fit you and your friends in a selfie.
The stock Android 7 on the phone, with minimum bloatware, made the operating system run snag free. It didn't crash even once in two weeks.
In another first, the hybrid tray slot arranges both SIM cards and the memory chip on a single tray. Also, Motorola has devised innovations that allow you to operate the phone with just the fingerprint reader.
The 3,000 mAH battery came with a Turbo charger that fully charges the phone within three hours. The battery lasts for about 20 hours with heavy usage. There are also sensors that detect overcharge and cut off power supply.
Both SIMs can run on 4G speed, which is another user-friendly first from Motorola. The split-screen function is nifty and allows multitasking.
The audio is fantastic and crisp. In fact, it can beat many of its costlier cousins.
So, should you buy the Moto G5? In our opinion, it meets all three criteria of a good budget phone—great battery, great screen and great camera.
Our most loved feature, however, is the ability to turn on the flashlight by chopping the air twice with the phone. A definite lifesaver for those seeking light in an emergency. Also, the phone came out unscathed even when left in a mug of water for more than 30 seconds.
